Railway brake safety device



E. J. SIMANEK RAILWAY BRAKE SAFETY DEVICE Filed Oct. 2f?, 1966 FSW @uw gf'. ML

United States Patent O New Jersey Filed Oct. 27, 1966, Ser. No. 590,027 6 Claims. (Cl. 18S-210) This invention relates lto railway brake rigging, and more particularly to a new and improved safety device -to be used with brake connector rods to prevent such rods, in the event of their breaking or otherwise becoming disengaged, from falling into the tracks and creating a hazardous condition.

An objec't of this invention is to provide a safety device threaded through a brake connector rod and secured to other parts of a railway vehicle.

The above and other objects will become app-arent from the following description and appended claims and in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top fragmentary view of a railway truck which embodies features of the invention herein described; and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through the connector rod described herein, taken through line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

The railway car truck is shown comprising a side frame 10 associated with a bolster 12 and wheel and axle assemblies 14 and 16, all having a design and construction well known to those skilled in the art, it being understood that the truck is symmetrical on either side of its longitudinal axis A-A.

A lbrake system is provided for the car truck, which comprises brake beams 17 and 19 each having an arcuate com-pression element 20 and a tension element 18, the ends of said compression element and said tension element being connected at 22. Elements 18 and 20 of eac-h beam are also connected intermediate their ends by a strut 26 which comprises a fulcrum bracket 28 for pivotal connection to a brake lever 30 intermediate the ends of said lever. A brake head 21 with a .brake shoe 23 keyed therelto is secured proximate each end of brake beams 17 and 19.

The lower ends of brake levers 30 are operatively interconnected by a hollow bottom connector rod 34 having -bifurcated ends 36 and 38 wit-h a plurality of aligned openings 40 therein for adjustable pivotal connection to said brake levers, said bottom connector rod passing underneath o-r -through an opening in the bolster 12. Lever 30 at the right of FIGURE 1 is a live lever operatively -connected at its upper end at 32 to a power device (not shown). Lever 30 at the left of FIGURE 1 is a dead brake lever, the upper end thereof being pivotally connected lto one set of a plurality of sets of aligned openings 44 in a U-shaped bracket 46 which allows an adjustmen't to be made for taking up slack in the brake rigging. The open end of bracket 46 is pivotally connected at 48 lto a bracket 50 secured to the truck Ibolster 12.

The s-afe-ty device as shown comprises eXible means interconnecting a substantial portion of connector rod 34 to other parts of the railway vehicle which will prevent 3,384,207 Patented May 21, 1968 "ice said rod, upon becoming broken or otherwise disengaged, `from dropping downwardly into the tracks or against other operative parts of the railway vehicle.

An interconnection means 52 is connected to a substantial portion of the connector rod 34 by threading said interconnection means through the hollow portion of said rod. The free ends of interconnection means 52 may Athen be connected by bolts 54 or other suitable means to other portions of the railway vehicle that are less liable to -break or become damaged, a preferred point of connection being to brake levers'30, intermediate the pivotal connection between rod 34 and said levers and the pivotal connection of said levers in fulcrum bracket 28. The interconnection means 52 is preferably iieXible at least proximate its ends and may comprise any element of smaller cross-sectional diameter than the inner diameter of the connector rod that is capable of supporting said rod, `such as the cable shown lat 52 in the figures, or a suitable length of chain (not shown).

From the foregoing description of the invention, it may be `s-een that the interconnection means 52 will provide support for connector rod 34 in the event that said rod becomes broken or the pivotal connections between said rod and a brake lever 30 fail. It should also be understod that the invention herein described may be suitably adapted to any connector rod in the brake rigging when there is a possibility of a dangerous condition being create-d as a result of the rod becoming broken or disengaged.

Having -thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. In a railway vehicle brake rigging wherein levers are operatively connected, `a safety device comprising a hollow rod pivotally -connected at each end to -a lever and a supporting element -threaded through a portion of said rod and connected at each end to a corresponding lever pivotally -connected to said rod.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said supporting element comprises a cable.

3. The device -according to claim 1 wherein said supporting element comprises a chain.

4. A safety device for railway brake rigging which comprises .at least two levers fulcrumed intermediate their ends, a hollow rod, each end lthereof pivotally connected -to the lower end of said levers, and a supporting element threaded through said rod, the ends of said element connected to corresponding por-tions of said levers at a location intermediate the fulcrum of said levers and the pivotal connection of said levers to said rod.

5. The device laccording to claim 4 wherein said supporting element is a cable.

6. The device according to claim 4 wherein the supporting element is a chain.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DUANE A. REGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A RAILWAY VEHICLE BRAKE RIGGING WHEREIN LEVERS ARE OPERATIVELY CONNECTED, A SAFETY DEVICE COMPRISING A HOLLOW ROD PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT EACH END TO A LEVER AND A SUPPORTING ELEMENT THREADED THROUGH A PORTION OF SAID ROD AND CONNECTED AT EACH END TO A CORRESPONDING LEVER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID ROD. 